| 释义 |
amulet|ˈæmjʊlɪt|
Also 5 amalett, amlett, 7 amulete, -ett, ammulett, 8 amulette.
[perh. in 15th c., a. Fr. amulette; but app. not in reg. use till after 1600, when adapted from L. amulētum (Pliny), a word of unknown origin, which has been conjecturally compared with mod.Arab. ḥimālah, -at, lit. ‘a carrier, bearer,’ now applied inter alia to a shoulder-belt or cord frequently used to secure a small Koran or prayer-book on the breast, regarded as an ‘amulet’; but the history of this word shows that the resemblance between it and L. amulētum is purely fortuitous, and there exists no ground for ascribing the latter to an Arabic origin.]
1. Anything worn about the person as a charm or preventive against evil, mischief, disease, witchcraft, etc. (The 15th c. instances are doubtful.)
[1447O. Bokenham Lyvys of Seyntys 151 Specyally for there ladyis sake They baladys or amalettys lyst to make. 1481Howard Househ. Bks. 49 Item, for claspis and amlettes jd. ob.] 1601Holland Pliny (1634) II. 229 A countercharm against al witchcraft and sorceries which kind of defensatiue is called properly Amuletum. 1605Camden Rem. (1657) 187 The onely amulet used in that credulous warfaring age. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 272 For amulets against Agues wee use the chips of Gallowes and places of Execution. 1774Bryant Mythol. II. 445 Teraphim..were lunar amulets. 1865Livingstone Zambesi xxv. 523 A horn or rude image is worn..as an amulet.
†2. Med. ‘Sometimes also applied{ddd}to all medicines, whether internal or external, whose virtue or manner of operation is occult.’ Chambers. Obs.
1718Quincy Compl. Disp. 132 Some pretend it is an Amulet. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Amuletic in medicine, is used by some writers for what is more frequently called an Amulet.
3. fig. A preservative, protection, or charm.
1621Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. xv. (1651) 140 He is our Amulet, our Sun, our sole comfort and refuge. 1684Lady's Call. i. ii. §8. 15 A better amulet against delusion then the reading whole tomes of disputations. 1877Farrar Days of Youth iii. 28 Righteousness will give you love..but it will not give you an invincible amulet against misfortune. |